Punchbuggy - November/December 1998
by Sarah Chauncey
Hometown: Ottawa, ON
Members: Andrew Kieran (vocals, guitars), Darren Hore (bass, vocals), Adam Luedicke (drums), Bryan Curry (guitars, vocals) and occasionally Ian MacDonald (keyboards)
Music: Speed New Wave, with a dash of power pop
To Contact: Paula Danylevich, HYPEmusic (905) 275-9613
My Norwegian Cousin, Punchbuggy’s third album, is a progression from their first two skate-punk releases. “[It has] a fuller, more complete sound,” explains bass player Darren Hore. “You can slowly see the progression [in the previous two albums], where we’re sort of achieving what we want to, but [we weren’t] quite getting there.” Some of the credit belongs to producer Mark Berry (The Headstones, I Mother Earth), who “knew how to achieve the fuller sound.”
Another difference is the songwriting. “All four members used to write songs, so the records were pulled in four different directions,” Hore adds. On this record, everybody participated, but Andrew did most of the writing. It gave us a central focal point, so we could concentrate on the consistency of the record.” The result is a diverse, but consistent, more commercial and broadly appealing album that should bring Punchbuggy the attention they deserve.